A New World of Fairies
by chromeflame109
Summary: Six months have passed since Chrome and his friends defeated Nobunaga and freed the players of ALO. Now, a new challenge has risen for them. A player-held tournament offering rare items and loot for the winner. How will Chrome and the other members of Azure Storm fare against some of the game's strongest players? Rated M for violence and coarse language just to be safe.
1. A New World

The setting sun filtered through the open windows of the apartment as the gentle breeze caused the tied up curtains to sway back and forth. If not for that breeze, the summer sun would have made the living space of the apartment quite hot. Although there was an air conditioner installed to fix that. The TV was on with a girl watching it.

The girl had black hair that if not tied up would hang just past her shoulders. At the moment though it was done in a loose braid which hung over her left shoulder. Her blue eyes gazed at the television as the apartment's other tenant stood in the kitchen, washing the dishes from their dinner.

The young man in the kitchen had rather flat looking brown hair and was a fairly average build. Neither of the two looked overly special but both were quite well known among online gamers. Well, their avatar names were well known anyway.

Ren Hikari and Megumi Junko were two members of the ALfheim Online guild known as Azure Storm. Together with their allies they had defeated the AI Nobunaga and saved all of the other players stuck in the game just six months previously. Since then, the names Chrome and Muko, along with the other Azure Storm members had become quite famous. None of them really minded the fame although for a while it had attracted a lot of attention while in game.

In the real world though, Ren and Megumi lived a normal life together as high school students. Ren worked part-time at a small supermarket near their apartment building while Megumi did the same at the local library.

Ren finished the dishes and glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was 6:50, he had to be at work in ten minutes. He grabbed his uniform shirt and pulled it over the grey, long-sleeved shirt he was wearing. He picked up his keys and walked over to Megumi.

"Heading off to work?" the black haired girl asked.

"Yeah, if I'm not back before you're ready for bed you don't have to wait up," Ren replied with a soft smile.

"Alright, have a nice night and be careful on your way home."

"Thanks, give me a call if you need anything."

Megumi got up and kissed her boyfriend before walking him to the door. They shared a brief hug before Ren left the apartment and Megumi locked the door behind him. He walked down to the building entrance from the third floor and stepped out into the hot evening air.

Ren groaned slightly, feeling the heat and then began the two block walk to the supermarket he worked at. He hadn't realised it at first, but after one night when Megumi walked to work with him, she pointed out it was the place they had first met. Ren looked into the familiar alleyway as he passed it, it felt like so long ago that he had saved Megumi there. So much happened after that, but he didn't regret any of it.

The young man finally arrived at the supermarket, waving to his boss as he walked in the door. Junichi Takeda was a man in his forties, well built with a balding head. "You good to handle the back dock tonight Hikari?" he called out. Ren gave another small wave and headed out the back of the store.

The back dock of the super market was a large space with a cold cement floor. Shelves covered the walls with various products filling them. A truck was backed up to a large roller door and was unloading various pallets of items that needed to be put out in the store that night. Ren thanked the delivery driver once he finished unloading and watched him drive away before closing the roller door.

"Yo Ren, how's it going?" a young man with a rather absurd looking black Mohawk called out. The young man was Goro, one of Ren's colleagues. He was a fairly likeable character despite his choice of hairdo.

"Hey Goro, I just got in. Are you out stacking tonight?"

"That's right. Oh hey, when we get our break there's something I have to tell you about!" Goro said. The words puzzled Ren but before he could question him, Goro was already running back out to the store with a trolley full of products to put out.

Ren got to work sorting the products that came off the pallets, organising them for the stackers when they came in to grab things and put them out. That took him almost half of his three hour shift. With twenty minutes until his break, the young man decided to sweep the area and start tidying up the shelves. Just as he was getting into a steady rhythm, a voice boomed behind him.

"Hikari, time for your break! You're doing well tonight," Junichi called out from the door into the supermarket.

"Thanks a lot," Ren called back, putting down what he was holding and exiting through a door that led out beside the building. Goro was already out there, sitting on a milk crate and shoving a hamburger in his mouth without a speck of grace.

The area beside the building was a moderately wide area that ran half the length of the supermarket. The top was open but covered with wooden lattice, vines from some fruit plant wrapping around the wood. Several milk crates like the one Goro was on were scattered around the break area as makeshift seats. Ren sat down on one and looked at his co-worker.

"So you said you had something to tell me about?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow as Goro's hair seemed to bob around with every movement he made.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that!" Goro declared a little too proudly for Ren's liking. "Remember about ten months ago, there was that ALO player that died? There was a huge in-game gathering of players when it happened."

"That Zekken person right? The one said to rival Kirito in terms of skill?"

"Yeah that's the one. Well I heard that apparently some of her friends are holding some big tournament on the anniversary of her death. They're saying the winner gets a ton of col and some rare stuff. But that's not all, there's a rumour that the winner gets the chance to fight the Black Swordsman or the Berserker Healer."

Ren's eyebrow raised from intrigue as Goro spoke. The chance to fight one of those two was something no self-respecting player would pass up. Ren went to say something but Goro held up a finger to stop him.

"There's a bit of a problem for you though. The tournament is taking place on the ALfheim server, not the Aincrad one you play on," he said.

Within New ALO, there were two main servers for players to choose. The first was the standard ALfheim server that held all of the game's original realms along with Aincrad. However a while after the initial release, a group of players got together and developed another server. This was the Aincrad server that Ren and his friends played on.

The Aincrad server played more like the original Sword Art Online. It didn't have the magic, flight or races of ALfheim, but players also could not explores the realms of ALfheim. Players were free to switch servers at any time but they would be required to edit their character upon doing so and would lose any experience they had towards their next level.

"Hmm, that's a bit annoying. I levelled up pretty recently though so if I swap over now it won't be much of a problem," Ren said, rubbing his chin a little.

"So you're gonna enter then?" Goro asked.

"I think it'd be pretty cool to do. I'm curious to know what items they're giving away as a prize and the chance to fight Kirito himself sounds fun."

"Yeah that's why I'm entering too! I'm pretty sure I won't win but hey, doesn't hurt to try."

"I guess tomorrow I'll have to sit down and transfer my character over. It'll give me two months or so to get used to the flight and magic mechanics, that should be plenty," Ren said as he got to his feet. He stretched upwards and walked back towards the door of the supermarket. "Thanks for letting me know Goro."

With that, Ren went back to work. The rest of his shift was rather uneventful and ended before he even realised it. He helped everyone else tidy up the shop before Junichi sent them home. Ren said his farewells to his co-workers and headed home quickly, he just wanted to sleep.

When Ren stepped through the door to the apartment, the living room light was on but nobody was in there. Megumi always left the light on for him if she went to bed before he got home, it saved him running into the couch or something in the dark. Ren hung his keys on a hook by the door and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, taking a long drink. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 10:13 now.

Ren took a bottle of water from the fridge as quietly as he could and took a long mouthful. A content sigh left his lips as they came off the bottle and he did the lid back up, slipping the plastic back into the fridge. He slipped off his shoes and silently moved through the living room, over to the bedroom against the rear wall.

He entered the small room and quickly changed into a sleeveless shirt and shorts before climbing onto the double bed in the centre of the room. There was already a lump on the left side and Ren scooted over to it before slipping under the covers. The young man placed his arm over his girlfriend and closed his eyes.

"Welcome home," Megumi said in a quiet groan.

"Thanks," Ren said in a quiet, content voice as he held himself against his girlfriend's warm body. He rested his head against Megumi's shoulders and slowly closed his eyes. It always felt nice to come home to someone else. It wasn't long before the gentle embrace of sleep took over his body and let him dream for the night.

The morning sun filtered through the partially open blinds, sending a prism of light skittering off the bedroom walls and right into Ren's closed eyes. The young man groaned a little as he slowly sat up, blinking his heavy eyes as his mind slowly began to wake, trailing behind his body just a little. His nose twitched a little as he woke, sensing something was being cooked in the kitchen.

He could smell tea… that smelt nice. Aside from that Ren could also smell pancakes, they were burnt. An ever-so-slight smile touched the corners of his mouth as he wandered out into the living room in his sleepwear.

"They're getting better Megumi," Ren said softly as he approached the kitchen and saw the pancakes, a lovely brown but with black edges. The black-haired girl pouted a little, serving up the pancakes. Ren smiled softly, they were certainly still edible, better than her first few attempts.

"The tea is good, I tried that!" Megumi said in a chipper tone. Ren did raise an eyebrow at that slightly, that comment meant she had most likely not tested the pancakes herself. Oh well, based on appearance they seemed safe.

"So, Goro told me something interesting at work last night," the brown-haired boy said as he sliced open one of the pancakes, inspecting the inside before eating it. They were pretty good. Perfectly cooked in the centre, just a tad overdone on the edge and bottom.

"That's the guy with the weird hair right?" Megumi asked in response, sipping at her tea.

"Yeah, him. Anyway, there's apparently going to be a really big tournament happening in ALO about two months from now. It's a player-held one to commemorate the death of Zekken, the player who died last year."

"Oh wow, that sounds really nice!"

"Yeah, apparently the winner not only gets some rare stuff and a heap of col, but also the chance to fight Kirito or Asuna from the original SAO."

"Are you serious? That's kinda awesome."

"I know right? The only problem is it's on the ALfheim Server, not the Aincrad one. Meaning we'd have to transfer our characters. We'd have two months to learn the flight and magic mechanics before the tournament and we'd have to get some decent gear."

"Well I heard they did an update on the game now where when you transfer a character, you can get these tickets that you can redeem in-game for equipment of an equal level to what you had on the previous server."

"Well that does solve the equipment problem. I'm pretty sure Lisbeth plays both servers as well, so if you can use those tickets with a player blacksmith we could ask her to forge our stuff."

"I guess we're moving to ALO then," Megumi said with a small smile. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she always wanted to play on the ALfheim Server with Ren. The idea of flying through the sky with the person she loved was one that sent her cheeks a light tinge of pink.

The two finished up their breakfast and gave the apartment a quick tidy before heading into the bedroom and setting up their AmuSpheres. The two laid down next to each other and gave a small nod before closing their eyes and speaking in unison.

"Link start!"

On the log-in screen, there were the boxes to fill in the player's username and password, then the log-in button below that and to the right was a green button that simply had the text "TRANSFER" within it.

Ren reached his finger towards that button, hesitating for a moment. The memories of all the events he had done over the last few months flashed through his mind. He shook his head slightly and smiled. It wasn't as though that version of Chrome was disappearing, he was merely creating a copy of the character on the other server of the game. If Ren chose, he was even able to carry over all of his stats and records, which of course he would be doing.

Ren took a small breath and clicked the button. The next text box that popped up read as follows:

 _From here, you may choose whether you want to start your character completely anew or if you would like to retain your current levels, stats and records. Please choose carefully, once the transfer has been made, it cannot be undone. Please not that should you choose the later, your transferred character will come with special tickets that can be redeemed at any in-game store or blacksmith for equipment of equal quality to what was equipped on the previous server at the time of the transfer._

Ren took the time to read over the explanation carefully before selecting the "KEEP DATA" option. There were a few seconds of loading before the next screen appeared. This time it was the character selection interface.

When ALfheim Online had first been released, the character creation had been completely random apart from the character's race. Cosmetic changes could be done later through micro transactions if the player didn't like the randomly generated avatar. However when the game was later re-released as part of the World Seed, it was made so that the cosmetic changes were done free-of-charge upon character creation so players were free to make their own character.

Ren spent a few minutes looking through each of the nine races, this was something he probably should have thought about beforehand. His playstyle in Aincrad hadn't been anything fancy, he hadn't chosen the sword and shield for any reason other than that he liked it. Why should selecting his fairy race be any different. He shrugged slightly and clicked on Sylph. They seemed interesting and the description said they were fast. Next he began working on the physical appearance of the character. Once that was done, Ren clicked confirm and there was another short load before the words "Welcome to ALfheim Online" appeared before him and the scenery suddenly shifted.

Standing in the centre of Sylvain was the newest Sylph character. The male sword and shield user had a head of dark green hair that looked rather bland, nothing fancy about it at all really. His gold eyes scanned his surroundings, taking in the sights. Chrome's body was toned, rather than the muscled approach a lot of swordsmen liked to use.

He wore the basic starting gear for the Sylph tribe. A dark green top with black pants and brown boots. On his left arm was a simple, round shield made of wood and hanging on his left hip was a steel sword. The gear definitely would not suggest he was a very experienced and rather high level player.

Chrome sucked in a deep breath before stretching upwards, feeling the cool wind on his body. "Well Chrome… welcome to the World of the Fairies," he said to himself softly.


	2. Beat Your Wings

Chrome stood in the town square for a few moments, simply taking in the stunning scenery. The sky looked so vast from where he stood, so open and free, unlike the restricting confines of Aincrad. This place was so very different from the floating castle but one could see it had similar origins. Chrome stretched upwards, sucking in a large lungful of air as he did so, tasting that fresh air.

He glanced over to the right as he saw a girl with a long, pale green ponytail walking around. She was clad in similar garments to him but with a sleeveless top and elbow-length, brown gloves. She wore a shield identical to his own on her right arm with a mace hanging from the hip on the same side. Chrome smiled a little, instantly knowing who it was.

"Muko," he said softly as he approached the girl, she looked so very lost. The girl's light purple eyes locked onto Chrome and he saw her whole face relax.

"You look very… you," the girl said with a slight giggle. Chrome raised an eyebrow at that comment.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing, don't you worry."

Chrome stared at Muko for a few moments before his eyes softened a little and turned to the sky once more. He brought up his menu and looked through it, he felt so naked without all of his gear from Aincrad. He looked through his items and spotted seven copies of an item called Equipment Ticket on the list. He would have to get on to Lisbeth so that he could trade them in for some decent equipment. Though today, he would dedicate simply to getting the hang of this new world.

"ALfheim is really pretty huh?" Muko said with a happy sigh, glancing around at the buildings of Sylvain. She glanced up at the huge tower that players used to start a long distance flight, there were few structures that big in Aincrad.

"I don't know about you, but I wanna give this flying thing a try," Chrome said with a rather eager grin. Before Muko could even respond, he had grabbed her hand and was already running for the tower.

The view from the top was simply incredible. Breath-taking, amazing, awe-inspiring. So many ways to describe something as simple as a view. Chrome stood on the very edge of the tower runway, looking down at the city and plains below. He suddenly got the urge to scream at the top of his lungs for some reason, staring down at the players and NPC milling around down below.

"Chrome… do you even have any idea how to fly?" Muko asked, joining her partner on the edge.

"Well, the instructions said you move your hand like you're holding a controller," the young man, curling his fingers in the particular way needed. There was a small light as the controller materialised in his hand. At the same time, a set of translucent green wings appeared on his back, shining vibrantly. A small grin appeared on his face. "See you up there."

With those words, Chrome stepped off the tower. Muko peered over the edge with a small sigh. "He's such an adrenalin junkie…"

Chrome felt the wind whipping around his body, whistling in his ears as he fell. His hair fluttered around his face as he tilted the controller upwards and levelled out with a hard jerking action, causing his head to snap forward. He made a small mental to make that motion a more gradual one next time. Though his thoughts caused him to lose stability, going into a slight spin that ended with him upside-down.

The swordsman manipulated the controller a few times until he finally ascended back to where Muko was standing on the tower. "You coming?" Chrome asked with a little grin before quickly flying off towards the plains to the west. Muko shook her head a little and brought out her own controller and wings.

Chrome spun around in the air slowly to watch Muko trailing after him, flailing occasionally as she tried to regain her balance each time she lost it. He smiled and caught her in mid-air once she reached him.

"We're gonna have to work on this. It'll be hard to use a shield while holding this controller," Muko said, gazing down at the object in question. Chrome nodded his agreement. He spun slightly on the spot with Muko in his arms. He'd knew it was possible to fly without the use of the controller but supposedly it was a pretty tricky skill to master.

"Well it's only our first day here, let's not get too ahead of ourselves just yet. Our best bet might be fighting some weak monsters to get used to the differences in combat here since this isn't level-based like the Aincrad server," Chrome pointed out. Muko nodded her agreement and the two descended to the ground just outside of Sylvain, their wings and controllers vanishing.

Muko gazed around the beautiful clearing they had landed in. The edge of said clearing was lightly forested. Behind the two players was Sylvain and directly ahead of them was a large forest that contained basic monsters for new players to train against. "This place really is beautiful," Muko said, looking at Chrome with a cheerful smile.

"For sure, the scenery is so different to Aincrad, but it has a sense of familiarity to it as well," her boyfriend responded as he too looked around. He looked at that forest and felt a familiar tingling in his body as a small grin crept across his face. Muko sighed softly and shook her head with a little smile.

"I assume we won't be stopping here to appreciate the scenery?"

"Well uh…"

"I'm kidding, let's go kick some monster ass!"

"You really are the best."

With that little exchange out of the way, the two proceeded into the forest ahead of them, drawing their weapons as they entered. The BGM changed once they stepped over the threshold of the instance, their vision growing slightly darker and a whole new set of sound effects flooding their virtual ears.

Chrome glanced up at the massive trees that seemed to stretch upwards forever. He could see birds flitting around the canopy of the trees and he could hear the growling of monsters nearby. Being a low-level area, he knew they shouldn't find anything too powerful here, but being outnumbered was always a real possibility.

The couple proceeded a little inside the forest and it wasn't long before their first battle in ALfheim began. A two-legged lizard creature ambled out of some bushes to their left. The creature stood a little under six feet tall and was carrying a thick, twisted tree branch. The monster's skin was a mottled mix of greens, greys and browns to help it blend in with the scenery.

"Well, don't you look threatening?" Chrome asked nobody in particular as he twirled his sword around in his hand. He glanced over to Muko and the two nodded to each other before spreading out to either side of the monster.

An unspoken plan ran between the two players as Chrome moved in first. He went for a deliberately obvious, overhead strike that the lizard blocked with its makeshift weapon. While the monster was distracted, Muko delivered a powerful blow to their opponent's side with her mace, sending it staggering to the side.

Chrome leapt forward with a jumping slash while the enemy was still staggered, dragging his sword down the entire front of the creature's body. The monster let out a combination of a growl and a hiss before swinging its weapon. Muko stepped in, getting her shield between the monster and her boyfriend, who was still staggered from his attack. The monster's weapon bounced off her shield before the lizard stepped back.

Muko glanced up, seeing they'd depleted half of their target's HP at this point. This would've been finished by now had they been using their Aincrad equipment. The lizard moved in, going for Chrome again with its log raised high. "Hold him off!" the Sylph girl instructed, crouching down slightly. Chrome knew by now to trust Muko, not even glancing to her as he met the monster's blow with his sword.

Muko closed her eyes, focusing as Chrome met each of the lizard's attack with his own. The girl's wings appeared on her back and quivered slightly as she concentrated. She screwed her eyes closed, the muscles in her back burning as she shot forward, hovering off the ground.

The girl twisted slightly, planting her feet against the side of a tree before springing off it in the direction she came. With a roar, Muko lifted her mace and slammed it into the back of the monster's head. The sound effect, indicating a critical hit sounded and there were a few seconds as its HP depleted and the monster shattered into pixels.

Chrome watched in awe as his girlfriend skidded across the ground slightly, coming to a stop near him. He stood up straight, sheathing his sword before placing a hand on Muko's shoulder. "How did you…," he said, staring at her slightly.

"Well I'd read about how to fly without the controller online a few times before we met since I'd thought of transferring here to get away from the DGamers… I guess I was just winging it," she said with a slight grin, rubbing the back of her head.

Chrome placed his face in his palm for a moment before letting out a small sigh. "Well, congrats on doing it regardless," the swordsman said softly, giving Muko a little smile. "Wanna keep training in here for a while?"

"Of course, we'll have this game mastered before dinner!" Muko said, flexing her arms. The two laughed at each other and headed deeper into the forest.

After several hours, the couple emerged from the forest, ending up just outside Sylvain again. Both of them stretched upwards, glancing at each other for a brief moment. "I have to say, you really picked up flying fast," Chrome commented.

"I don't really know how, I mean I was just kind of doing it on instinct… I'm sure you'll get it down in no time," Muko said with a warm smile, giving Chrome a little kiss on the cheek. The swordsman smiled back at his partner softly.

Muko had gotten the hang of flying rather quickly, being able to perform a number of simple attack combos and skills while in mid-air; flying without her controller. Chrome however hadn't picked things up quite as fast, still having to use the controller in order to fly. Of course he held nothing against Muko for it, he was happy to see her adapting so quickly.

"Let's hope so, I can't exactly go fighting other players while being stuck on the ground," the Sylph swordsman said with a slight stretch. He knew that his fighting in the upcoming tournament all depended on him mastering flight rather quickly. It wasn't really something he could go without.

All in all Chrome wasn't overly worried right now, he still had a few months yet, and he could always ask Muko for help if he didn't at least pick up the basics soon. He couldn't help but wonder what the other Azure Strom members were doing right now. He had sent them all emails about the upcoming tournament but nobody had replied yet. Even Arcadia who he'd assumed would have jumped on it had remained silent so far.

"Wondering about the others?" Muko asked, taking Chrome's hand in her own as they walked into Sylvain. Chrome nodded slightly, looking up at the huge tower they had flown off earlier.

"Yeah. I'm kinda surprised that none of them replied to my emails. I was expecting to at least have Arcadia or Kotetsu here with us today."

"I'm sure they'll all come eventually. They're probably just busy with things in the real world. I mean Arcadia is a teacher after all, and Kotetsu probably has soccer practice or something."

"Yeah you're right," Chrome said with a smile that held a hint of sadness. "It just feels a little strange only having the two of us here."

"It's certainly quieter, that's for sure," Muko giggled, squeezing Chrome's hand gently. Even he couldn't deny that part. Though the commotion that came with their group was what made it so fun.

The two took just under an hour to have a look around Sylvain's main areas, finally coming to a stop just outside a rather quaint looking outdoor café. The outside was decorated with arrangements of many colourful flowers along with each of the tables. A pleasant smell lingered around the establishment that filled the noses of the couple as they got closer.

Chrome smiled and pulled out a seat for Muko at one of the tables before sitting down on the opposite chair. Muko took the offered seat as a waiter approached and handed them a menu. The NPC moved over to the side, waiting patiently for the two players to order.

"Hmm, I guess I'll have the banana parfait," Muko said, glancing over the male NPC. He nodded and then looked to Chrome, awaiting the swordsman's order.

"Just a fruit salad for me please," he said. The waiter gave one more nod before wandering away, only to return mere seconds later with the two items, placing them out on the table.

"Please enjoy your meal," he said with a slight bow before walking away. Chrome took up his fork and speared an innocent cherry with it, popping the small fruit into his mouth. The cool sweetness was rather pleasant as he chewed, watching Muko begin her parfait.

"It's yummy," the girl said with a happy little coo, digging the long spoon back into the dessert to obtain a second bite. If she was being honest, Muko was quite happy she could eat as many sweets and desserts as she wanted while diving without having to worry about her weight. "How is yours?"

"Yeah it's nice. Certainly different to the home cooked meals we're used to from back in Aincrad."

"Definitely, but it's a welcome change."

"So, this tournament should be pretty fun huh?" Chrome said, toying with a piece of pear rather absentmindedly.

"Yeah. Though if we come up against each other, don't expect me to go easy on you," the Sylph girl said with a little wink and a grin.

"Heh, same goes for me. I won't hold back just because you're my girlfriend," Chrome said in response. The two laughed softly at each other, chatting idly as they each finished the dishes they had ordered.

Chrome rested his hand on his chin and glanced around. "This place really is so peaceful and nice, hard to think that PKing is actually encouraged here…," he said softly, glancing at the many Sylph players who passed.

"I think it's a nice dynamic. I mean we've gone from a place where almost everyone works together to accomplish a common goal, to a place where smaller groups are all fighting for their own goals. Though of course even if our friends choose different races, I'm sure we'll all adventure together," Muko said softly. Chrome nodded a little. He had to admit that he too was excited for this new experience. Even after the tournament occurred, he planned to stay in ALfheim for a while to see what there was in the world.

"Well," Chrome began, sliding his chair back and getting to his feet, "shall we go get a little more practice in before we log out?"

Muko nodded and rose to her own feet. The two brought out their wings, Chrome taking out his controller as well. The couple smiled to each other before soaring off into the sky, heading towards the plains outside Sylvain.


	3. Blade of Shadows

The Spriggan darted between the trees, making barely a sound on the lightly damp grass. His dark brown, leather boots padded along the ground, the soft soles helping mask his presence. The young man wore a dark grey, steel breastplate and matching spaulders over a black singlet top. The armour was lightweight but had quite impressive defence. Stopping just below his elbows were two, dark brown gloves with braces on the top that matched his armour. A pair of black pants finished off the dark, stealthy avatar along with the long dagger bouncing on the back of the Spriggan's waist.

Kotetsu slid his hand through his slick, spiked back ash grey hair, a few gelled strands joined together and hanging down between his eyes and stopping just past his nose. His eyes narrowed in on a spot a few metres ahead of him in the dark forest.

There, hiding in the undergrowth was what looked like a slightly large than normal rabbit. There it sat, minding its own business, munching away on some of the long, damp grass that covered the forest floor. Its rear end wiggled in delight as it seemed to enjoy its meal. Any passer-by would have assumed the creature was rather adorable, even Kotetsu roughly half an hour earlier.

"Time to pony up some material you fuzzy little bastard," the Spriggan whispered, drawing his dagger. That almost silent hiss of steel on leather was enough to alert the creature to danger.

The rabbit spun around instantly, its ears sticking straight up. Things were still and silent for a moment before the creature's jaws snapped open, salivating heavily and letting out a growl that sounded like it should belong to a dog rather than a rabbit.

"Aw hell no…" the ashen-haired Spriggan muttered, quickly crouching. Within seconds, a pair of wings reminiscent of a player's sprung from the creature's back before it launched through the air towards Kotetsu, a ferocious look on its previously cute face. "Nope, not this crap again!"

With that, the hunter became the hunted and Kotetsu was off, running full pelt through the forest with the rabbit creature flying close behind.

The Spriggan ducked and weaved through the trees, almost getting struck by low hanging branches. His pursuer barrelled through most of the things the young man avoided. "What is with these satanic rabbits?!" Kotetsu screamed as he leapt over a fallen, moss-covered log.

Kotetsu had spent the day hunting this particular mob. Its pelt was a rather valuable item that could be sold for a decent amount, along with being used for higher level armour upgrades. Kotetsu was hunting it for the latter. Though each time he had tried to hunt one of these Fae Rabbits, it had ended up being a situation exactly like the one he found himself in at the moment.

"Argh! Screw this!" he yelled, spinning on his heel. Kotetsu's free hand clenched into a fist and he flung it out straight ahead. The air was filled with a satisfying _smack_ and the impact rippled through the young man's arm. The Fae Rabbit tumbled backwards through the air, shaking its head as if in disbelief.

The dagger-user leapt forward, the thick, curved blade of his weapon shining bright in the dark forest as it tore through the stunned creature. The Fae Rabbit's HP bar dwindled down by half, the remaining section turning yellow.

The creature hissed and shot forward, slamming into Kotetsu's stomach hard. The Spriggan was winded and thrown off his feet, tumbling through the wet grass. "How the hell does a rabbit hit that hard…?" he groaned as he rose to his feet unsteadily.

He had no time to react as the monster came forward again. Kotetsu threw himself to the side, rolling and rising quickly. This time he brought his dagger up, ready for the next charge. He side-stepped the attack, raising his dagger overhead and plunging it down into the Fae Rabbit's back as the creature flew past.

The mob let out a pitiful cry before shimmering and shattering into pixels. Kotetsu glanced at the screen before him that showed the drops he'd received from the fight. His eyebrow twitched slightly as he read the words. He had received and standard amount of money along with a piece of Fae Rabbit Meat. No pelt.

The Spriggan roared and hurled his dagger, the heavy blade digging into a tree ahead of him. Kotetsu took out his frustrations by dramatically kicking several clumps of grass before wreathing his dagger from the tree and trudging back into the forest.

It took him a little over two hours to collect the eight Fae Rabbit Pelts he needed. After close to twenty battles against the monster, having to hunt them down each time, he had finally been successful in gaining the drops.

The dagger-user grumbled to himself as he made his way back towards the forest path he'd left hours ago. He cursed the Fae Rabbits, along with the game developer who'd designed the things. His grumbling almost caused him to miss the presence approaching him from the left. Almost.

Kotetsu's right foot slid in a wide arc as his whole body pivoted with it. In the same instant he yanked his dagger free from its sheath and raised it high to meet the scimitar that would have otherwise taken his arm off. The clash of steel-on-steel rang out through the trees as Kotetsu stared into the face of his attacker.

The other player was wearing a pair of white slacks and a grey top with flared sleeves. The armour he wore over the top was a dark blue with purple trimmings. The man's aqua hair hung loose down to his shoulders. The Undine player was equipped with a scimitar and a large kite shield.

"That's a nice way to say hello," the Spriggan said through gritted teeth. He flicked his wrist up to separate his dagger from his attacker's sword before jumping back to create some distance between them.

"Just hand over those pelts you've been gathering and I'll be on my way Spriggan," the Undine swordsman remarked, keeping his weapon pointed at Kotetsu.

"So you've been watching me this whole time then? Gotta say, that's a little creepy dude."

"I have to say, you were a good source of amusement for me. But now it's time for you to hand over those drops or I'll take them by force."

"I like how you say that _after_ you almost cut me in half…"

The Spriggan stretched upwards, cracking his neck from side to side as he took a deep breath. His dagger spun in his hand for a brief moment before the Undine swordsman came forward. The curved sword cut through the air, going straight for the shoulder of Kotetsu's weapon arm. The Spriggan gritted his teeth before nimbly crouching low and back-flipping away from the attack. However the Undine came forward again with a thrust attack this time.

Kotetsu tried to dodge to the side but still caught the edge of the blade on his left hip. He hissed slightly and spun to the side, taking a few quick steps back. Kotetsu could see this guy wasn't going to let up, he had no choice but to cut him down.

The Undine took up another battle stance as Kotetsu took a few breaths, letting his body go loose. He flexed his fingers on the handle of his dagger and let his head hang down. His opponent, seeing this as a sign of surrender, smirked and rushed forward, planning to cut the Spriggan in two with a single swing.

 _Three. Two. One._

Kotetsu mentally counted down the last few seconds of the Undine's approach before swiftly bending his left leg at the knee, his right leg going out to the side as he dropped down. The startled Undine was easy to knock over with a sweeping kick at that point, sending the blue-haired man tumbling across the undergrowth.

"Give it up, or next time I'll use my dagger, not my leg."

"Nngh… not a chance…"

The Undine rose and charged with a battle cry, his large shield ahead of him and his weapon held high. His footsteps were heavy, thumping through the soft ground and making a hell of a lot of noise. This guy might have had good equipment, but he had no idea how to fight properly. Kotetsu could tell this guy was the type to just rush at lighter equipped players, hoping to startle and overpower them.

The Spriggan however was much more calm and collected. More cunning. He raised his dagger and charged forward. He held the weapon high with a roar, aiming to ram it straight into his opponent's chest. With the sudden charge and scream, the Undine was taken by surprise. He skidded to a stop and raised his kite shield, leaning all his weight into it. Perfect, Kotetsu thought with a smirk.

He picked up speed before leaping forward. With one foot landing on that large shield, he used it as a springboard to propel himself over his opponent, turning around and tilting in mid-air. Kotetsu held out his free hand, speaking a quick incantation before thick, black smoke billowed out and covered the area.

His attacker, completely surprised by what had just happened stood up, swiping at the thick smoke in a panic, trying to clear it. He heard a series of thuds before the vibration of a pair of wings before a figure came flying through the smoke, straight at him. There were mere seconds between the Undine sighting his opponent and that heavy dagger finding its mark right between his eyes.

Kotetsu kept travelling past him, sliding with his heels across the ground, sending mud and grass flying everywhere as he came to a stop. He turned his head slightly just in time to see the Undine tense up and shatter into pixels before forming into an eerie, floating flame. With a critical strike like that, Kotetsu knew there was no way he could've survived.

He clicked the rewards screen that appeared, giving him half of his opponent's Yrd along with a random collection of his items. The Spriggan shrugged a little and accepted the rewards. He felt bad taking those items, even though they had probably been taken from other players that Undine had killed.

"You just sit there and think about what you've done," he remarked to the flame as he passed it, sheathing his dagger and heading for the forest exit.

Kotetsu let out a rather strained groan as he stepped out of the forest into the sunlight and stretched up high. He blinked several times rather quickly, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the sudden lighting change. His eyes scanned the area, noting the cursors and levels of a few mobs milling around, looking for any players that might stumble across their path.

The Spriggan turned his head a little as he brought out his black, translucent wings and began to concentrate. After a few moments his wings began to flutter and he hovered up into the air. He ascended to a safe height and then began his flight to the neutral territory town nearby, avoiding all of the monsters on the ground.

"Man this makes life so much easier, if this was Aincrad I'd have been swamped by mobs all the way back to town, unless I took some out of the way, winding path to avoid them of course," he said to himself as he flew.

He loved this freedom of flying, though at the same time he also loved dashing through an open plain, not having to stop to avoid anything. Neither of those things he could do in the real world. There were no vast, open plains around and he certainly couldn't fly. He glanced at the time in the corner of his HUD and sighed a little. Only an hour before he had to go back to that place.

The events of six months ago had lingered with Kotetsu quite a bit. After being stuck in Aincrad and being forced to live there for a lengthy period of time, he had actually grown quite accustomed to that life. Even after what would be considered a relatively short period of time, Kotetsu had had a little trouble growing reaccustomed to his real life again after living in Aincrad.

"I don't know how the people stuck in there for two years did it… I don't think I'd be able to go back to the real world after that…," he murmured to himself, though only he could hear his words with the wind rushing around him. His eyes narrowed a little, "would I even want to?"

The ash-haired Spriggan sighed and continued his flight back to town with an empty mind, not letting himself get distracted by his thoughts.

Kotetsu landed in town and checked his inventory for a moment, making sure he had everything he needed. He nodded to himself and headed down the main street to a familiar store. He pushed the door open, causing a bell to chime as he stepped inside.

"Yo, Lisbeth, you around?" he called out, wandering up to the counter of the homey little blacksmith shop. A familiar head poked around a door frame; that pink hair bouncing a little as the blacksmith peered at her customer.

"Oh, it's Kotetsu. Come on down to the forge and I'll upgrade your armour. That's why you're here right?" Lisbeth asked in that energetic, cheerful voice of hers. Kotetsu nodded and followed the girl through the door she had peered out of, down into her forge.

"Next time you tell me to get a material, warn me about the monster I have to get it from," the Spriggan said, narrowing his eyes on the blacksmith who had created all of his equipment a day earlier. The pink-haired blacksmith put her chin between her thumb and forefinger with a devilish grin.

"Hehe, but the Fae Rabbit is so much fun isn't it?" she asked with a little snigger. Kotetsu simply glared at her as he opened up a trade window and sent his armour along with the Fae Rabbit pelts to her. He stood in just a black singlet and his black pants as he waited for Lisbeth to get to work.

The girl gave one final snigger before beginning the upgrading process. After a few menu screen choices and a few strikes of her hammer, the job was done. Kotetsu took his armour back and re-equipped it.

"Just remember, those pelts didn't actually increase the defensive stats of your armour, only the durability rating. You won't take any less damage but you'll be able to take more hits before any risk of it breaking."

"Yeah, thanks a lot, that's all I needed. Any sort of defensive increase with an ore would have added to its weight rating and I can't afford to lose any speed points. This stuff already weighs more than my hardened leather armour from Aincrad."

"Hey you requested it," Lisbeth said, narrowing her eyes on her customer. Kotetsu quickly waved his hand at the gesture.

"I know, I know. The lower speed is a little annoying but for one-on-one fights I'm going to need the extra defence. I'd like to try and get a slightly longer dagger before the tournament; that would be handy…" he said, his voice trailing off as he continued to think.

"Well I'm glad I could help, come on back if you need anything else done," Lisbeth said with a smile and a small bow.

"Will do, thanks again Lisbeth," Kotetsu said as he returned the bow and left the store. He gazed up at the sun and blinked a few times before bringing out his wings. "Well… might as well do some quests before logging off," he said before shooting off into the sky.


	4. Campaign for Two

An upbeat battle music filled the air. The sound of several violins interrupted by the occasional sounds of battle that bounced off the canyon walls. A see-through trail of red swept through the air, arcing behind a large axe before it collided with its target. The golem stumbled back, inflicted with a stagger status condition from the heavy blow. The Salamander holding the impressive weapon leapt back with a practiced precision as another warrior charged in to take their place.

The Cait Sith thrust out with a short spear tucked under their arm as a second spear came down with a vertical strike as the first pulled back. The Stone Golem fell backwards, crashing to the rough ground in a cloud of dust. An icon indicating the tumble status appeared next to its half-full HP bar and the Cait Sith back-flipped away in what seemed to be slow motion as the Salamander re-joined the battled.

That deadly battle-ax was raised high, holding for a second as the blade began to shine a brilliant green. There was another second of delay before the weapon came down. A loud noise rang out as the critical hit was delivered to the fallen monster, causing fatal damage. As the Salamander pulled their axe free and put the handle against the ground with a thud, the Stone Golem shattered into an array of pixels.

"A beautiful finish my love," Hakuya said, placing a hand on the back of the lightly-armoured Arcadia. The female Salamander looked quite a bit different to her heavily armoured avatar from back in Aincrad.

She wore a pair of hakama coloured deep red with orange-yellow flames coming out from the bottom. Beneath them a pair of black, steel greaves could be glimpsed. Her torso was covered by a black singlet top with a black, steel breastplate over the top. A pair of long, fingerless gauntlets with steel braces matched her other two pieces of armour. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the black steel also held a faint, red tinge. The Salamander also had a black tattoo of a flame going around her upper-left arm. Arcadia's purple hair was cut in a bob with the fringe coloured red.

Her scarlet eyes turned to Hakuya the Cait Sith as she looked over him for a brief moment.

Hakuya, unlike Arcadia looked almost identical to his avatar from Aincrad. He was clad in a full set of sleek, cobalt coloured armour with orange trimmings. A long, red scarf was also wrapped around his neck, hanging down his back. His long, blonde hair was tied in a neat ponytail. The most notable differences were the pale brown cat ears on the sides of his head and the matching tail poking out the back of his armour.

Another significant change was that of Hakuya's weapon. He had forgone his trademark spear and replaced it with two shorter ones that he now placed on his back, one crossing over the other. The spear that he held in his left hand was the slightly longer of the two with a narrower blade intended for thrusting. The other was a few inches shorter but the blade was wider and slightly curved, more ideal for slashing attacks.

"These monsters aren't exactly anything threatening. We handled way stronger things than that back in Aincrad," the purple haired woman said.

"True, but there's much more that we have to master in this game's combat system. The flight and magic mechanics will take some getting used to after all," Hakuya said, his ears twitching slightly as he stretched.

Arcadia nodded and returned her axe to her back as she gazed around the canyon. Multiples of the golem they had just fought could be seen ambling around for quite some distance until the view was blocked by a sharp curve in the cliffs that made up the canyon.

"The information we got said that the NPC giving the quest should be somewhere in this zone. Convenient how they chose not to tell us about the aggro range of these golems and that the canyon is a no-fly-zone…" the axe-wielder grumbled as she began trudging onwards. Hakuya happily wandered after her, an energetic spring in his step as he went.

"Oh come now, it's kind of romantic in a way," he said with a grin. His partner turned her head, raising an eyebrow as she stared at him. "Walking together in an uncharted area, no other people around, just us and nature."

"One, there are also a horde of pissed-off golems to go along with us and nature. Two, this place is hardly uncharted," the redhead said as she pulled up a holographic map from her menu as proof. Hakuya placed his hands on his hips and pouted as he kept walking.

After a long walk and so very many fights, the two finally turned a corner and found the location they were seeking. Atop a small incline was log cabin that looked rather abandoned. All of the visible windows were either cracked or completely shattered and the door hung open, the top hinge broken.

"Well… that looks inviting," Arcadia said as she strode towards it.

Hakuya glanced around, drawing both of his spears as he followed her. The area wasn't marked as a safe zone so he knew there was a possibility enemies could come bursting from the cabin at any moment.

The red-haired Salamander placed her back against the wall, holding her axe out as she peered around the door frame. The single room that made up the interior matched the exterior. A rather solid looking table was broken clean in half and several matching stools were scattered across the floor along with various pieces of furniture and knick-knacks. Finishing the scene was a figure covered completely in a cloak sitting hunched over in the far corner. Floating above the figure's head was a "!" indicating they were connected to a quest.

Arcadia gave a small nod to Hakuya and the two proceeded inside.

There was a growl from the figure as the hooded head snapped upwards. Bright, silver eyes stared right at the newcomers as the figure leapt up. Neither player could discern anything about the NPC with the cloak covering every inch of their body and the shadow from the hood masking their face.

"Fairies…," the figure said in a deep, powerful voice, following up with a low growl. It was clear that the cloaked figure was male by their voice. His eyes seemed to linger on Hakuya more than Arcadia. "You… you are from the clan that tames the beasts are you not?"

Hakuya lowered his spears slightly and nodded. "Yes, I am a Cait Sith, if that's what you mean," the blue-clad man said in response. The figure seemed to relax a little and the two players could have sworn he let out a sigh of relief.

"My name is Volgarn, what are your names Fairies?" the figure said. At that moment, the name Volgarn replaced the exclamation mark above his head.

"My name is Hakuya, it is an honour to meet you Volgarn," the spearman said with a slight bow, his tail swishing back and forth.

"I'm Arcadia," the Salamander added in, not showing the same manners as her partner. She leant against a wall with her arms folded, seeing that Volgarn was more interested in Hakuya than her. The former cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Hakooya…," he murmured, his deep voice getting the pronunciation slightly wrong. "Tell me, did you see an armoured figure on your way here?"

"Can't say I did."

"That damned coward must have fled… curse him."

"I take it this person is no friend of yours?"

"He is what you people would call… an assassin. I discovered him attempting to kill the leader of my tribe. I pursued him to this place and engaged him in combat. Despite his appearance he was a fast and powerful opponent. He caught me off guard and I was wounded, forcing me to retreat in here to survive."

The two players listened to the NPC's tale. They knew it was simply a predetermined script that would be repeated to every player that began this particular quest. Volgarn moved to one of the shattered windows and gazed out, as if looking for his previous opponent.

"Tell me Hakooya, Arcadia, will the two of you assist me in tracking and slaying my target? I can grant you many rewards for doing so," the cloaked figure said as he turned back to the two fairies once more.

"Of course, I'm happy to be of assistance," Hakuya said with a smile.

"Just lead the way and we'll kick this guy's ass," Arcadia replied as she stretched upwards.

"I thank the both of you," Valgarn said. He undid the neck of his cloak and let it fall to the ground, showing his appearance to the two players for the first time. Both Hakuya and Arcadia went wide-eyed.

Valgarn was a tall man with a muscular build. He was easily over six feet tall and wore a set of brilliant red armour adorned with black trimmings. Upon the breastplate sat the insignia of a fire-breathing dragon in gold. Sitting on his left hip was a long scimitar with a razor-sharp blade. However it wasn't his outfit that surprised the two players.

Valgarn's skin seemed to have a scale-like quality and protruding from the back of his head were two, long, black horns that curved downwards. Accompanying that was a thick, red tail that hung from the rear of his armour and swished along the floor. It, like his skin was covered in scales.

"What the…" Arcadia muttered, looking at the man.

"Hmm? Is this your first time meeting one of my kind?" Valgarn asked, looking between the two clearly startled adventurers before him.

"Y-yeah. May I ask what exactly you are Valgarn?" Hakuya responded as he took on the sight before him. He had never heard of any sort of lizard race being among those playable in ALfheim.

"Of course. I am a proud member of the Dragonkin clan. We are a nomadic people who wander these lands searching for a place to call our own. But if you do not mind, I would be happy to tell you of my people after we have slain that assassin, Hakooya."

Hakuya nodded slightly, regaining his composure as he stood up straight. He glanced over to Arcadia and the two left the cabin with Valgarn in tow. The Dragonkin sucked in deep breaths of fresh air before gazing around, his nose twitching slightly.

"I can smell his blood from the west. It seems the coward has not gone far from here," Valgarn said with a growl of distaste. His scaly tail thumped once on the hard ground as he strode in the direction he had indicated.

"Seems like someone isn't in the best mood," Arcadia said with a little smirk, watching Valgarn walk away. Hakuya smiled a little, taking the Salamander's hand as they followed.

"Well at least this quest seems like it's going to be more interesting than we expected," the Cait Sith said. The two had entered ALfheim a few days ago and had been seeking a way to kill time and improve their skills before the upcoming tournament. A limited time quest they had been told about by another NPC had seemed like just the thing to do so.

The three headed down a narrower section of the canyon being led by Valgarn. The path was still home to golems but these ones were few and far between. The difference was these Canyon Golems were much larger and more powerful than the ones Hakuya and Arcadia had faced earlier.

"Come and face your death beast!" Valgarn roared as he charged one such golem, his large scimitar drawn. A straightforward charge staggered the creature, the Dragonkin's sheer strength amazing the two fairies. "Hakooya, Arcadia, slay the beast now!"

"Don't need to tell me twice," Arcadia said as she charged in eagerly. The woman ran towards Valgarn who crouched down, allowing the Salamander woman to vault over him and deliver a falling strike with her axe.

Hakuya stood back a little, letting the two finish off the Canyon Golem without him. "My sweet Arcadia really does enjoy her battles," the Cait Sith laughed, twirling his shorter spear around in his hand a little. He gave the woman a high-five as she approached him again and the two exchanged a smile.

After a little over half an hour, the group of three reached the entrance to a cave in the canyon wall. Valgarn looked around and sheathed his weapon, the two players following suit. The Dragonkin seemed to sniff the cave entrance briefly before turning to his companions.

"I can smell that coward in here, we have him cornered," the tall NPC said. "I have heard that you fairies are able to separate your spirits from your bodies to rest. This clearing is an area protected by the Great Ones, so you may do so if you wish."

Hakuya glanced at the time on his HUD, it was getting rather late. Arcadia was a little impressed by how Valgarn worded their ability to log out, it was a nice feature.

"Probably a good idea, we can always pick this up tomorrow," Arcadia said quietly as she looked at Hakuya. The Cait Sith nodded in response before turning to Valgarn.

"Thank you, we'll take you up on that offer," he said with his trademark smile. The two players wandered to the canyon wall and sat down against it, looking at the tall Dragonkin that approached them.

"Rest well comrades, this area may be protected but I shall guard your bodies should any dangers arise," Valgarn explained, touching the weapon on his hip. The two players nodded their thanks and brought up their menus, scrolling to log-out button.

"Until next time," Hakuya said.

"Later," Arcadia added in.

Valgarn watched the two press what appeared to be an invisible button and both of their bodies went limp. The Dragonkin turned stood with his arms folded as he stood perfectly still and watched the entire area. He would guard them for as long as it took them to return, just as he had said.


	5. Training Expedition

Vakross stood back and watched as his partner fought against the monster a little over a metre away. Though "fought" was a rather loose description of what was going on really. The small Pooka girl was doing something akin to flailing with her hand-axe in the general direction of the goblin before her. Occasionally she would squeal and raise her circular, wooden shield when the goblin countered with its little dagger. This had been the situation for the past five minutes or so.

The Cait Sith swordsman stood with his hand on the end of his katana's handle, gazing out at the scene. His deep purple hair was tussled by the wind slightly, his long fringe bobbing back and forth, his blue eyes watching the Pooka girl.

He wore a set of black, Griffon leather armour. The armour consisted of a breastplate that had open sides for extra movement, a pair of knee-high boots with greaves that covered his entire thighs with two griffon feather protruding from the back of the left one. His left arm had a tight, fingerless gauntlet that ran to his elbow with three feathers coming from the back and his right hand had a single fingerless glove that stopped at his wrist. Over the top of his armour he wore a long, burgundy coat that hung to his knees.

"Himako, you have to focus! Don't just swing your weapon around. Take your time and make each hit count!" the purple-haired Cait Sith called out. He originally wasn't going to interfere, but at this point the battle was going nowhere.

"I-I know… but it's hard," the small girl called back. She took a small breath and looked at the little goblin in its tattered clothes, holding its rusty, jagged dagger.

Himako thrust her shield out when the goblin attacked again, staggering the creature and leaving it suspended, leaning back slightly with a rather dazed expression. The Pooka girl let out a shriek as she stepped forward and raised her short axe high before bringing it down on her opponent's head.

The goblin let out a short whine before it exploded into pixels and Himako was rewarded with her spoils. Himako slumped forward and let out a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding in. Vakross approached the other player and placed a hand on her head.

"You did alright at the end there but you need to focus more. Stronger monsters have better AIs and won't just keep throwing the same one or two attacks at you."

"I know, but it's scary you know?"

"I guess there was a time when even I had trouble fighting basic monsters in full dive MMOs thanks to their appearance. Regardless of that though, we've been at this for close to a month now and it's not like you'll die here if you get beaten. It's okay to take risks and try things out."

"But I'm not a brave person like you Mister Vakross. I chose to play as a Pooka so I could hang behind and support others rather than fight on the front lines."

"Look, even a support class will get into fights every now and then. What happens if your party gets surrounded and there's a monster coming right for you? Are you just going to scream and go hide behind one of the people you're supposed to be supporting and get both of you taken out? You need to know how to at least survive long enough to get assistance from your party members if you're unable to beat whatever is targeting you. Understand?"

Himako hung her head slightly, the blade of her hand-axe touching the grass. She knew Vakross was right, but even if this was just a game, courage wasn't something that came easy to her. Especially in the face of such scary looking enemies. The Cait Sith rubbed the back of his head a little, sensing he'd been a tad harsh on the girl.

"For now, let's focus on your support skills then. I'll fight some monsters and you just concentrate on trying to give me the right buffs my situation calls for, okay?"

Himako nodded slightly as Vakross accessed his inventory and swapped out his custom katana for a run of the mill one that clearly belonged to a beginning player rather than someone as experienced as himself. The Cait Sith strode off into the field with the Pooka girl following behind.

It wasn't long before the two encountered a fairly large boar type mob. The creature instantly went to charge Himako since she was the weaker target, but Vakross nimbly met the charge by jumping between the two and blocking with his sword.

"Keep your distance and hit me with the buffs you think I need, don't hesitate!"

Vakross kicked the boar away and pursued it with his katana ready. This mob posed no threat to him so he could afford to mess around with it for a little while without any danger of being beaten. When the beast charged once more, rather than blocking the attack, Vakross lowered his guard so that it would hit him head-on.

"Mister Vakross!" Himako cried out, quickly taking a pan flute from her inventory. She played a shaky tune that sounded slightly off-key, but the system registered the skill she was trying to use and bestowed a defence boost to Vakross. The Cait Sith smiled a little and took the boar's charge, sliding back slightly and becoming staggered for a brief moment.

He gave Himako a thumbs-up before running towards the boar with his sword ready. The Pooka girl, now a little more confident, raised her pan flute once more and played a different song. This time, Vakross was granted a temporary boost in strength.

"Eat this!" Vakross yelled, swiping his sword across the boar's side before jumping back. Even with a basic katana, Vakross' strength stat caused him to take away almost half of the mob's HP with that single strike.

The Cait Sith gave the boar a few moments to recover before it charged him again. This time he was going to give Himako a cue she'd have to think about a little more. He kept his guard up, only barely avoiding the charge at the last moment with a clumsy, slow dodge.

"Wh-what am I supposed to do for him now…?" she mumbled to herself as she looked at Vakross HP gauge just below her own. She could see that the defence buff she had given him still had about twenty seconds left so obviously it wasn't that. She watched the next charge where Vakross did the same thing again, though this time the attack hit him slightly. "Oh!" she exclaimed in realisation as she raised her pan flute once more.

When the boar came charging once more, the movement speed buff that Himako gave to Vakross allowed him to gracefully dodge the attack before swiftly dispatching the mob with a two-hit combo. The swordsman strolled towards his fellow party member, giving her a small nod.

"You did well. You definitely are better at support than you are on the front lines."

Himako pouted a little, she wasn't entirely sure if that remark was supposed to be a compliment or not.

"I'd like to focus more on your combat training for the time being. Once you at least have the basics down we can go on some proper quests and you can train whatever you feel comfortable with. That okay with you?"

"Y-yes. I hope I'm not being too much trouble for you. I know you want to enter the Zekken Cup and I don't want to take up your training time…"

"It's fine. I get plenty of time to train when you're offline, and trust me, if you were being a burden I'd tell you."

With that comment, Vakross strode off deeper into the field dungeon. Himako blinked a few times before following after him.

"Hyaah!" Himako squealed as she swung her axe horizontally into a boar. The creature groaned and went limp before shattering into pixels, bestowing several small rewards unto the Pooka girl. "Phew… I did it."

"Well done, you were a lot more confident with that one," Vakross said as he approached with his arms folded. He placed a hand on the head of the girl who only came up to his chest and ruffled her hair a little.

"Well boars aren't too scary… they're just big pigs after all," Himako said, sharing her reasoning with her teacher. Vakross wasn't too fussed how she was handling it mentally, as long as she was becoming able to fight on her own without his help. He glanced upwards, seeing a rather large hawk mob circling around in the air. "That's your next target. You're a fairy after all so you need to know how to fight in the air."

"A-any tips?"

"It's more or less the same as fighting on the ground, you just have to watch a few extra angles that enemies could come from. Don't worry though, I'll keep any others that might pop up away from you."

Himako nodded slightly. Normally she would have complained a little about being thrown into this sort of situation so suddenly, but she knew she had to get stronger so she didn't drag Vakross down any more. She took a few moments to bring out her wings along with her controller in her left hand, the arm that held her shield. Vakross gave a final word of encouragement and the girl took off into the air.

"C-come on, I can take you!" she said to the bird, trying her best to keep steady as it approached, swooping towards her. Himako raised her shield and Vakross called out to her.

"Brace yourself!" he yelled. He knew that even if she blocked the initial attack, being as unsteady as she was, the force of the impact on her shield might send Himako into a spin. That was a dangerous situation to be in.

Himako gritted her teeth a little as she took the hit on her shield. At the same time, she pushed forward on her controller a little to counter-balance the impact, a technique Vakross had told her about earlier. She pitched backwards slightly, not having pushed forward quite enough, but it wasn't enough to send her spinning out of control. With a deep breath, Himako was back in the fight.

She moved forward and swung her axe horizontally. The attack was somewhat awkward due to her trying to keep steady with the controller, but it still grazed the hawk, leaving a strip of red across its belly.

The hawk screeched and flew away a few metres before circling around and heading straight for the Pooka. Vakross watched from his spot on the ground, curious to see how his apprentice would react to the charge attack. He was honestly a little surprised when Himako stood her ground, metaphorically speaking, and dropped her weapon into a low position. He could see what she was trying to do, and he knew that if she got the timing right this would be a critical hit.

The hawk closed in with each passing second and Himako took several deep breaths. Three, two… one! The girl swung her axe upwards, the blade facing towards her enemy. The timing was a little off so the attack didn't quite hit the hawk's heart like she wanted but the strike to its belly still sent the creature spiralling towards the grass with its HP in the red.

Vakross was about to instruct Himako to finish the fight, but clearly he didn't need to as the girl plunged down after her target.

"Seeey-ah!" she yelled out, burying her axe in the bird's back. There was a short, sharp cry from the beast before it exploded into pixels and Himako gently landed on the ground, taking her rewards.

"Nicely done, those last two attacks were impressive. You're really starting to get the hang of this," Vakross commented, opting to leave the word _finally_ off the end of his sentence, even though he thought it.

"Thank you, it's only because of your lessons and patience," the Pooka girl said with a bow. Vakross rubbed the back of his head a little, this girl seemed so different to the one he had just seen fighting the bird mob.

"I didn't really do much, just told you the basics."

"I know, but you've taken time out of your training to help a total stranger like me over the last few weeks. I really am grateful."

"Its fine, I've been here over a month so I'm plenty used to how things work in this game now. Besides, like I said before, I get a fair bit done when you log out and before you log in."

Vakross was aware that his words sounded somewhat harsh, but he wasn't really sure how to word them better. At least with the other members of Azure Storm, he never had to say all that much; that was what his sword was for.

"Um… if it's not too much trouble, would I maybe be able to see you train? I promise to stay right back and run away if any enemies spot me," Himako asked in a soft voice. She had never once gotten to see Vakross fight enemies around his own skill level so she was curious to know just how good he really was.

The Cait Sith swordsman thought about the request for a moment. He knew Himako wasn't likely to try and jump in on a fight with powerful enemies, she wasn't that foolish after all. On the other side, being rather weak in terms of stats, it would be very easy for enemies to focus their aggro on her.

"I guess it'd be okay just once… but you have to listen to every order I give you, got that?" he asked, staring straight into the girl's eyes with a serious gaze. Himako gulped and simply nodded in response. Vakross' eyes lingered on his HUD before he spoke again. "For now though, it's getting late. Let's get back to town and you can log out for the night."

"R-right… I'll probably get in trouble if I stay in-game much longer," the Pooka girl sighed. Honestly, she didn't want to go back to the real world. There was far more she could do in this place and she wanted to stay with Vakross more. She would love nothing more than to go on a full adventure with him, not logging out for days until they were done. Though she knew that was impossible.

Vakross noted the sadness in her eyes and glanced away slightly. He couldn't keep his gaze on her. He took a silent breath and began walking back towards town, drawing his katana. Himako was unsure why, but he went out of way to fight every single monster on the way back, cutting them down with barely any effort each time. As he did so, Himako noticed there was nothing in those sapphire eyes of his. No happiness, no compassion, not even concentration.

Even with Vakross' constant fights, the trip back to town took only ten minutes. Himako would have liked it to last a little longer. When they approached the inn, Vakross spoke for the first time since their conversation about logging out.

"We'll get a single room so you can save your Yrd for new equipment," he said, paying the NPC behind the main counter. Himako nodded and followed along behind him upstairs. It wasn't like they were really sharing a room or anything, it would only last until they both logged out and then when they logged in again. Though for some reason she still felt a little nervous.

The room was nothing fancy really. There were small, single beds against the east and west walls with a small desk against the north. Beside each bed sat chests where they could store items during a prolonged stay, but neither of them had need to do so at the moment. The ceiling for the room was quite high, Vakross would barely be able to touch it even if he jumped, not that he actually planned to.

"Do you mind… if I stay logged in a little longer so we can talk?" Himako asked, sitting on the edge of the bed against the east wall. She opened up her menu and removed the knee-length white boots she wore along with the small breastplate that sat over her purple and golden dress. Himako removed the pink tie from her brown ponytail, letting the shoulder length hair fall free, her red eyes watching Vakross.

"That's your choice. I can't exactly tell you when to log out after all," Vakross responded. He too removed his armour, remaining in a black, sleeveless top and pants of the same colour. He left his katana leaning against the wall by his bed, rather than placing the weapon in his inventory.

"H-how come you do that with your sword?" Himako asked, pointing to the weapon. Vakross glanced over.

"Hmm? I guess it's just a habit now… It's something I always did in another game I used to play. I preferred having my weapon within reach at all times rather than having to screw around equipping it in an emergency."

"Even inside an inn like this?"

"You never know where an enemy could attack you…"

"A-am I an enemy?"

Vakross looked over at Himako, his eyebrow raised in a slightly amused expression.

"You, an enemy? Well if you were I doubt I'd even need my sword at all," the purple-haired Cait Sith remarked with a smirk. Himako's cheeks puffed up in anger and her small hands balled up into fists.

"What? Come on, that's just mean!"

Vakross couldn't help but burst out laughing at the reaction, Himako had taken the bait brilliantly. The Pooka girl's cheeks only puffed up more at the laughter, getting to her feet. Vakross was curious to know what she'd do at this point. Even if she tried to attack him, they were in a safe zone so he couldn't be hurt… and honestly, even if it did sound mean, there was no way she could best him in a duel.

"Why did you help me that day…?"

The Cait Sith was completely taken aback by the question that was suddenly thrown at him in such a small and weak sounding voice.

"Why…? I guess, I didn't want to see you get killed by that orc. I hate people who use weaker players as bait in dungeons so they can make off with the rare loot. I've seen the kinds of things actions like that can do to people…"

"But this is only a game, it's not like I would have really died or anything, and you didn't even know me."

"Is that really a valid excuse to not help someone in need? I can't just stand by and let another player be used and killed, even if this is just a game. I don't regret saving you… because in the end this is redemption…"

The last words Vakross said were barely a whisper and Himako wasn't able to pick them up. She was about to ask the swordsman if he could repeat himself, but his distant gaze out the window caused her to stop. There was something in those sapphire eyes now, a deep sadness. A sorrow that caused Himako to shiver a little, an urge to simply embrace the taller swordsman growing in her chest.

Himako sat down on her bed, choosing not to say anything at all. Honestly, she had no idea what she could say. Perhaps if she knew what Vakross was thinking about… but that wasn't something she could pry into though.

The two sat in silence for a good while before they decided to log out and continue their time in ALfheim together tomorrow. As the Himako of the real world opened her eyes, the only thing she could think of was what she could have done to comfort Vakross…


End file.
